Bedford Park - Warm Afternoon

            Warm sunshine in early October is certainly an invitation to be outside, and is an invitation I find irresistible — so I head for a park I have not visited recently, and the beauty of sunshine lies as opposed to light from an overcast sky, is this casts shadows, and enhances texture and detail. A single teazel separated from its blurred background is therefore an ideal start point. Intricately patterned leaves either obliquely lit from above or through from behind are too good to miss! The leaves and sharp thorns of brambles, or the breeze lifting their leaves to display the rubbing beneath are always aspects of nature that will catch my eye, and entice me to record them. For the next several minutes, I found myself fully absorbed by the textures and colours I found all around; some so abstract they might well have been shot from above by satellite! And, as if to emphasise the beholder, as I panned towards what lay immediately beneath me, I grabbed a shot of my own silhouette, before taking a couple of rippling reflections that were accentuated by the original uniformity of the protecting rail, by the Canoe Slalom Course.
            A nearby bush was alive with bees and butterflies eagerly feasting. Rushing water within the pool by the lock gates, and the contre-jour but now somewhat forlorn remains of the spiders’ labours also caught my eye, as did the Mallard ducks being tossed by the turbulence of the water, then the frantic aggression from one male towards another (possible suitor?!) After this, the chasing male spread its wings to dry them, for the next encounter, perhaps?!
           A pair of swans found there was far more interest below the surface than above — but no! One at least had found a tasty morsel of reed upon which to feast. The predator Mallard ignored the passing feather from the previous fracas as it drifted past and the duck continued to paddle against the current. On the shores other Mallards relaxed in the warmth and swans dried their wings, or simply displayed their plumage as a mark of power. Overhead, gulls were gathering, and occasionally swooping to gather morsels of bread being thrown by children onto the water by the shore. This provides me with the chances to capture the gulls as they hover. In sunshine, it also gives me a better chance of capturing detailed images of the birds in flight; that is until some careless dog owners do not control their charges, and two dogs frighten the assembled birds! That irresponsible behaviour is a disgrace, and shows a callous disregard of the owners’ responsibilities!
            There were several Cormorants in the lake on this occasion, and I was intrigued by one which had something in its beak, but it was too distant for me to see exactly what it had in its beak, but after it had played with it awhile, I was unsure whether it had eaten it, or dropped it back in the water. The Grebes sadly kept their distance from the shore on this occasion, because it is a species I enjoy watching. The ravens I encountered on this afternoon seemed to accept my presence as unthreatening, and came reasonably close, and it was interesting that one pair was so different in their personal grooming - one was immaculate without a feather out of place, the partner: the complete antithesis! Unlike the male Mallard which was washing itself all over! While it’s partner watched calmly from the shore. The subsequent display seemed to justify the male’s behaviour, as they both snuggled up to each other — a display I have never ever witnessed before! I suppose you must admit, that definitely should be a feather in its cap!

           One of the Finger Lakes must be especially shaded from the wind as its surface is almost entirely covered by a layer of green algae, but the birds on it seem undeterred by its coverage, and their passage through closes behind them, as they paddle further. As I head back to my car, I stop to take shots of a Magpie that heads in my direction, entirely unfazed by my presence, but eventually, far less so with a couple of men heading towards me from behind the bird, as they licked their way through ice cream cornets. I resumed my pursuit of leaf textures, dying leaf structure, and berries — the Magpie flew off, and I captured a few more varied leaves and berries on the last stretch before returning to my car, and home, ending a satisfying and enjoyable afternoon’s exercise of limbs and brain. Enjoy!

Bedford Walk & Capture

     

The sun and warmth of this Autumn day drew me to visit the banks of the River Great Ouse in Bedford, with the desire to capture the activity of some of the wildlife. On this occasion, I had my hopes set on a heron that I had photographed at the weir behind the Cinema, but it turned out to be on a fishing trip by the wider weir, offering a cooling walk in shallow water further along the path. I was to spend some time before my wish was granted on the other side of the main road, photographing some very sleepy ducks, some interesting fungi on the bark of a tree, backlit leaves, and bunches of berries, before returning to the weir and walking further.

I had chatted to some of the anglers during that period, one of whom was a photographer who ran a Camera Club, he copied my details to his phone, so we may well meet up again in the future. I noted where the heron was in passing it, but the view was both distant, and heavily obscured by fine branches, so I spent some time walking beyond, crossing a bridge further down the path, and returning to narrow the distance between us and doing my best to obtain a view that was less obscured. The heron was very aware of me, and was leisurely moving to other spots from which it could observe its potential prey without a care as to whether I might have a clear view of the action! This meant often I would have to seek a new spot every few minutes, during which I had to move considerably further round. I was however rewarded by having differing backgrounds and finally by capturing its success over a substantial meal, however it downed its catch out of my sight, but I could see a slight bulge in its neck for evidence!

Currently the bird I really wish to see at some of the spots to which I gravitate, is the Kingfisher. This year my trips to the one lake that in the past has afforded me the chance of photographing this beautiful little bird have been unsuccessful — this is the lake at Marsworth, the spot where in the past every visit by me was reciprocated with avian visits, and by that I mean not just kingfishers but several other bird species, even though my raison d’être for the trip was undoubtedly the Kingfisher.

Definitely this visit’s highlight for me was undoubtedly to see the heron, especially as it kept me on the move which to me is always preferable to sitting in a hide with a comparatively static background and on this occasion, I definitely got my exercise quota as well as a ‘warm fuzzy’ from the heron and its excellent catch!

Harrold-Odell Lake Avian Activity

                A lake with abundant wildlife on the water, and close to shore, was where I was headed, and seeing a space on the main road outside Harrold-Odell Country Park seemed like a good spot to park, since I suspected the Car Park itself was likely to be crowded. My guess was accurate.

               Although I was planning to use my EOS R, and the Sigma 60-600mm with its 1.5 Converter, I still slung my LUMIX FZ10002 over my shoulder, and this was a good move, even though it only came into its own at the end of my visit.

               Once I had mounted the camera on my Benbo tripod, I was good to go, and first stop was the small area closest to the car park, where I could get an idea of what activity was on the main lake, after a short while there I then started a walk anti-clockwise around that lake, glancing through the trees to get a feel for what I was likely to find. A Black-headed gull had monopolised the now tilted post at the first stop, and as I ventured further, it seemed as if it was interested in featuring in photos, as I feel sure it was the same bird, that later I spotted gliding in search of a meal and every so often after circling, would swoop to the water, and then spend time in amongst the swans, geese and ducks, on the water amongst them.

               The swans some with young, seemed to be protective, but also in the distance with no young could be seen to be fairly aggressive amongst themselves! As a consequence the swan families and this gull feature strongly. In the case of the gull, I wanted as much panning activity as possible, so I was very grateful for his equal desire to assist. He (or She) put me through my paces, by often flying just by the treeline, which was certainly challenging! 

               Although hardly an attractive bird, the Egyptian Goose features fairly frequently as it is not every day that oneness them, but I have spotted one here on an earlier occasion.

               As I walked around, several times I spotted a species of almost colourless damselflies, but every one bar one never seemed to settle, so were too elusive to warrant the effort to photograph them. This lone one however seemed happy to stay close, so I brought out my LUMIX camera and attached the closeup lens then stretched out my right hand, palm-down in the hope it might land, meanwhile since I am naturally right-handed I gripped the camera awkwardly with my left hand, and contorted myself, such that I could hold it to my eye and operate the shutter with the same hand. It obviously felt I should be humoured having gone to such effort and duly landed on my free left hand, and patiently stayed there to allow me a couple of bursts, and at the end stayed put till I offered him a leaf upon which he could alight.

               This entire scenario was watched by a man in a wheelchair and his carer, who were seated nearby, so having succeeded in getting my shot, I showed them the result on the camera. They probably were convinced I was nine pounds short of a tenner! But I was really chuffed with my small success! Butterflies appear to be fairly trusting of humans, as this was not a one-off for me. I have also put seeds on my hand for Robins! Palm down, always.

Priory Country Park, Bedford 2020

Before all the travel and other restrictions became the new norm, I had visited the Priory Country Park in Bedford, but that had been from its main entrance, and since I was trying hard to distance from my fellow humans, that was definitely not going to be where I was heading. I took a long look at the Bedford area using Google Earth, and also my Ordinance Survey Map of the area. I also decided to call my earlier fellow BRSCC Assistance Chief Pit Marshall, because he had spent some time living in Bedford, to sound him out for local knowledge. From this telephone call, I received an interesting wake-up call, Peter reminded me it was over twenty years ago, since he retired from the company for which he had been a Director; and the area, and had been living on the South Coast ever since! 

Doesn’t time fly?! Perhaps I should take a moment to realise that we ceased marshalling around the same time, and my marshalling ended at the same time as I set up ‘SOLUTIONS photographic’, but I am still in touch with other marshals from that time, and am still very much interested in motor racing. Yet my photographic interests still span the peace and solitude of small insects, birds, flowers, landscapes and skies as well as powerboats, windsurfers, 

and venues such as Goodwood, Brands Hatch and Brooklands. I find no contradiction between these two categories.

On this trip, I found a lone swan had commandeered a short stretch of the bank to perform its grooming, and noted that white downy feathers were around, so it was obviously a favoured spot. Later when the swan vacated the location three Mallard ducks came in to claim the spot at high speed! Yet they knew better than to make any attempt to share the spot whilst the Swan  was in residence!

I was also lucky with some of the butterflies, and a Magpie, and the lighting on a very closed riverside Pub. The Canoe section was acting as a nursery for algae, so I imagine that will be probably attended to before that is opened once more. I do hope that we do not have to wait too long before the freshness of the young leaves is all lost.

I suspect this trip will be the last for at least a week, because the forecast appears to be far less favourable, so will mean I have no excuse not to attending to cleaning my kitchen floor, and other household chores that have featured less over the last week! Once those have been done, I will spend some more time reading the LUMIX manual to try to set the camera up better to suit my way of working, because speedy access to certain controls is still very hit ‘n’ miss — or to be more specific — often very much ‘Miss’! It is still not fluid enough for me. And since the chance of my using my other much heavier gear is still a long way off, I need to get the hang of this little beauty, while have some time on my hands.

River Gt. Ouse Behind Riverpark Drive

I had a two-fold reason for my trip to Bedford; foodstuffs the Co-op did not stock and to investigate the sightings of kingfishers on the river from an angler I met on the last trip out, whilst he was walking with his wife.

Some items of food shopping are not found at my two local Co-op stores, and it was the Tesco and B&M Stores that stock specific items such as Fray Bentos ‘Landmines’ (so called due to an unfortunate accident that Michael Cane might have been moved to comment upon, had he seen me put one in the oven without removing the lid!) When I saw just how long the queue stretched, I decided to return to the car and dig out my camera; this sunshine was too tempting to waste standing in a queue, I can live for a while longer with the food stocks I hold! 

As I entered the waterside grassy walk I wandered by one of the park benches and noted a couple were relaxing in the shade, occasionally sharing some of their bread with the ducks. Much later having walked some distance on this side of the river taking photos, and crossed over to the far bank and eventually returning and going beyond my start point in the other direction, the couple were still there and we began to chat. During our conversation the man mentioned he had actually seen a kingfisher fly by here, which confirmed my angler’s assertion that this stretch of river was where I might be rewarded with opportunities to photograph one of my favourite birds.

On this trip the highlight was catching sight of a Mallard pair with its young chicks at the water’s edge, so I can definitely see myself journeying here much earlier in the day sometime in the not too distant future, as I also caught a fleeting sight of a squirrel in the branches, and a Holly Blue butterfly, so though brief I now had found a spot worth a second visit. I did not bother with any Supermarket visit, but returned to sort out the shots I had managed to capture, knowing that coming to this spot on the river at a later date, and much earlier in the day was likely to prove fruitful.

Polling Day Visit to Stockwood Discovery Centre

The Day started with a visit to the Polling Station to cast my vote, then straight on to get food items in Bedford, offload those and head on down to pay a visit to the Stockwood Discovery Centre. The rain which had been a feature in Marston Moretaine and the beginning of the journey to Luton had stopped by my arrival at the Centre, and a charming Chap spotting my camera seemed to be aware of who I was and told me he had just caught sight of a Chiffchaff in the gardens, but it had flown away after being spotted. When I asked about Jan’s whereabouts I learned she had told him I was coming down, so my camera was the giveaway!

I had by that time already spotted subjects worth recording so I continued adding to the tally. It was more than a quarter of an hour later when we met up. And she told me her news, she had handed in her notice and was retiring, she also told me how that news had been greeted; it had come as quite a shock to the management, as she is highly respected for knowledge, and her hard work, and will definitely be missed. I for one will find it less inviting as she has always been very welcoming and extremely helpful in alerting me to what is in bloom and of interest.

The earlier weather had definitely put off visitors as I think I spotted no more than half a dozen people as I wandered around, normally on a weekday there would be mothers pushing buggies or with young toddlers in tow, perhaps the election had also had an effect, and the sounds today were the numerous birds, and in particular on very strident blackbird, and every so often an aircraft taking off from the airport.

The effect of this calm, was that magpies and squirrels had come into the central area, and later as I was leaving I briefly got a shot of each amongst the empty tables outside the café. Jan had alerted me to some features of interest, and so I spent the time in the central area before moving into the greenhouse, and I was very happy with what I managed to capture before dropping into the petrol station to fill up at the economically priced garage just nearby and heading back up the M1 to Marston Moretaine. It was well worth the trip.

Marsworth – Early Signs of Spring

The first bright day for a while, and fairly warm with it, after three dismally grey days.

I knew I had left it rather late if I thought I might get a chance to take some shots of kingfishers, another photographer whom I had met before had taken some shots before my arrival, but though he stayed a further hour or so, neither of us had any further luck – I did twice see one fly by, so instead I thought I’d try getting a friendly robin to take seeds from my hand. He made three tentative flights toward my hand, but spun away at the last minute; on the fourth he did land, but just as swiftly spun round and again headed back to the nearby branch!

The Mink that lives in the hollow of a nearby tree trunk leapt noisily from the water  early on, and headed home on the surface, then disappeared from view, and a very skittish Grey Squirrel tore along the half-submerged tree trunk and disappeared up a tree to my left. A Wren paid me a fleeting visit and twice a Magpie came for a short spell.

Surprisingly for long periods there was no birdsong at all, just the gentle swishing of the trees interspersed with the noisy flapping of Wood Pigeons, I caught a few glimpses of a Bluetit, but he gave me no chance to get a shot.

I tried in vain to get the Mallard drake to take seeds from my hand, but he did not trust me at all, though if I dropped any seeds, he would dart closer just to grab it, muttering all the while. I left soon after and the couple came up to where I had been sitting and feasted on the seeds I had put down for the Robin. As I returned to my car a shot of a lady and her dog presented themselves in silhouette against the setting sun, as did a different Robin as I walked along the path between Startops and Marsworth lakes.

New Year's Eve - Willen Lake

After three mornings with fog and frost, the last day of 2016 was dry, cold and grey without any frost or fog, so the great outside beckoned, if for no other reason than to provide much needed exercise – an opportunity I was not going to miss, though I had no plans beyond a slight lie-in before Shave and Shower. When the invitation to join some of my family at Willen Lake, Milton Keynes; this settled it. As if to further tempt me, the sun made a showing. It turned out that was flattering to deceive, for having appeared for some five minutes, it disappeared, never to return during the rest of the day!

What had I expected? After all this is England.

I breakfasted, then gathered what I felt would be the most likely lenses to capture any wildlife that might be present and family images of fun, my 35mm f/1.4 and the 300mm f/4.

They turned out to be entirely adequate, I failed to get the Phone’s SatNav to link to the car’s audio and having planned to use the M1 northbound to reach Willen Lake, set off; then completely forgot this decision and headed along the A421 for a few roundabouts! Fortunately I did spot my error and continued for a while before taking a right at one of the roundabouts  and finding a long slip road  that sort of doubled as a layby, I took a look at the phone’s map and picked up the originally intended A509, soon arriving at the car park.

I was early, so I took the 35mm out originally, but soon found that since there was a good deal of common bird life around, returned and swapped to the 300mm on the 5D MkIII. Everything else I left in the boot and headed for the lakeside where I had earlier spotted a bluetit and a magpie. This occupied my time well, till my daughter arrived with two bikes, one being ridden by my male grandchild, the other being carried by my son-in-law, whilst my female grandchild was being carried by my daughter! That was an ominous sign!

We adults did some chatting as we walked, whilst eventually both children duly did take to their respective bikes, every so often being discarded as other interests such as steep banks and precariously angled tree trunks appeared along the route. We headed for the Peace Pagoda initially, then when one of them needed a toilet, we split up as mother and daughter headed back the way we had come. The exercise was far from strenuous, but keeping on the move, the cold wind was less of a problem. We had a spell with liquid refreshments and some time in the play area, and the time passed speedily. My daughter had just a minute left on arrival at her car park with an attendant Attendant, just starting his rounds of their parking area. I collected a tub of Condensed milk from her and then we said our goodbyes and headed off in opposing directions, as I now had to walk back to my parking area with over an hour to spare on my car!

Slapton Milieu

After a long spell of unusually cold weather for late April, warmth arrives, but still tempered with a strong wind, that in the shade still has a chill. Lunch over and desk cleared and telephone calls all made, I grabbed the opportunity and my camera and drove to the village of Slapton and on to the Grand Union Canal.

On the way, I stopped to get a shot of the church resplendent in its fresh coat of Portland or Magnolia paint; somewhat strange for a church, but it certainly stood out well in the milky sunshine!

I pulled in by the nearest bridge to Slapton Lock and did a limbo dance beneath the rails to get down to the towpath, not the easiest way with a camera and case, but certainly the shortest distance. As before I noted how well the lock keeper's cottage garden was tended, and noted it was appreciated by the bees, out for almost the first time in abundance this year. I had taken a look to decide which direction to take, and chosen that lock and cottage and beyond for a start, and later I returned and took the way to Horton Wharf Lock.

The sheep were quietly mowing the farm lawn amidst old and gnarled trees, some even venturing to the water's edge where the fence was broken, then beyond the cattle were also close to the canal side with the Whipsnade Lion cut into the chalk hillside of the Dunstable Downs beyond in the afternoon haze.

Sporadically the birds would come alive; there were swallows swooping low into the middle of the canal as were a group of common tern, pigeons and crows would also venture from the farm building roofs and off into the trees. I also spotted magpies, a robin and a chaffinch, and every so often the Mallard ducks would take to the air.

I met a couple from Kent on their houseboat, who had travelled from just south of Stoke Bruerne and were planning to stop the night here before continuing their ten day trip further south, they had been intrigued as to what I had been photographic, so I showed them some of what I had gathered by that time and we chatted a bit about what birds they had seen along the way this trip, before I left them to their tea, and the wife returned to her knitting, possibly for a male grandchild, judging by the colour.

On my later return by the houseboat the husband was inside, and caught sight of my passing and we exchanged waives.

Snow Gives Way to Sun

Saturday brought the first sun for some time, offering a respite for birds and animals to take to the open with a chance to feed. In my case it gave me a short opportunity to get out and capture some of the scenes in good light just before it was all washed away in the thaw.

I drove out past the gates to Luton Hoo's walled garden, over the treacherously icy hill past the water treatment plant and take shots on the top of the further hill, and looking back to the Hotel that was once the great house, and home to the Werner Collection, famous for its collection of Fabergé Eggs.

Then on to Codicote with its fine church, and Claggy Bottom and the wonderful setting of its cottage farmhouse. From there beyond to Welwyn, and back via Wheathampstead to East Hyde, where I spent the rest of the day enraptured by the racing river and how it had enticed all the local birdlife in abundance, though it was somewhat overwhelmed by the large number of gulls, that did however give me the opportunity to see that Canon's alignment of my 300mm and EOS7D had made a difference as I practiced capturing the gulls in flight.

Fortunately several knowledgable birdwatchers visited the same bridge and they generously pointed out rarer species of birds than gulls, swans, Canada geese and mallard ducks, that I had not even spotted, such as the snipe and egret. The snipe was so distant, that in the gallery it is a far smaller image due to the cropping necessary to show it at all!

The heron looked bitterly cold as it hunched up in a tree, a magpie watched from afar, a red kite over flew, the pied wagtail ventured from the muddy bank to strut across the patches of snow amidst the grass tussocks, and a robin and jackdaw were tempted to the parapet by seeds and nuts I had laid along it. Courtesy of the aforesaid experts spotting the wagtail and kite, they also pointed out the landing of a kestrel on the nearby pylon. To them I am very grateful – I need every help I can get to spot such birds.

As I left with the clouds covering the sun once again, I got a shot of shy sun and rich yet pale orange glow diagonally behind a skeletal tree on the brow of the hill as I left. The water level under the bridge had noticeably risen over the hours I had spent there, and I have no doubt the banks will recede still further over the next few days and swamp much of the fields close by.

Stockwood Discovers Signs of Spring

I knew that the sun was not due out till the afternoon, and that I might well have my desk clear by then, so I followed up on my emails and telephoning and by half past two I was able to grab my cameras and lenses and pay a visit to the Stockwood Discovery Centre. I had spoken to one of the gardeners, Jan, and she had mentioned that the hellebore were out. I spotted some other attractive leaved plants, and later walked through to the lawn and was amazed at how many squirrels were gambolling around on the ground and over the several park benches.

I decided that I would put out some small piles of peanuts on the stones in the centre, but managed to catch my hand and sprayed almost the entire contents of my container into the air! Any animals or birds were due a bonanza, and completely unintentionally. I then walked away to see whether my beneficence was to be rewarded by attracting the squirrels, however only one came to the feast, and there was no way that one was going to broadcast the news to others, and for a long while it was alone. I took a few shots then strolled off and in flew a pair of magpies, and also a couple of crows, so I turned my lens on them, before retreating again.

Later I wandered slowly to the exit, and managed to find a couple of smaller birds before spotting the magpies again in the central area, and one was now scavenging amongst the bark paths for suitable nest-building material. Altogether a very satisfactory afternoon in cool spring sunshine.